Sensor device with imaging optics

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method and a sensor device ( 100 ) for detecting particles (MP) that are bound to the binding surface ( 12 ) of a carrier ( 11 ). The sensor device ( 100 ) comprises a microscope ( 50 ) for imaging bound particles (MP) onto an image sensor ( 53 ). In order to increase the spatial resolution of the microscope( 50 ), a displacement unit ( 60,70,80 ) is provided that can displace the carrier ( 11 ) relative to the image sensor ( 53 ). The distance of a bound particle (MP) from the binding surface ( 12 ) and/or its lateral displacement in reaction to forces can thus be determine with high accuracy. This allows to discriminate specific bindings of large magnetic particles (MP) that are bound to the binding surface ( 12 ) via smaller target particles from nonspecific direct bindings.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a sensor device and a method for detectingparticles that are bound to a binding surface of a carrier.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The WO 2008/155716 discloses an optical biosensor in which an inputlight beam is totally internally reflected and the resulting outputlight beam is detected and evaluated with respect to the amount oftarget components at the reflection surface. The target componentscomprise magnetic particles as labels, which allows to affect theprocesses in the sample by magnetic forces.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Based on this situation it was an object of the present invention toprovide means for improving the accuracy of particle detection,particularly for low particle concentrations.

This object is achieved by a sensor device according to claim 1, amethod according to claim 2, and a use according to claim 15. Preferredembodiments are disclosed in the dependent claims.

According to its first aspect, the invention relates to a sensor devicefor detecting particles at the surface of a carrier, wherein saidsurface is called “binding surface” in the following because theconsidered particles will in many important applications be bound tothis surface. The particles to be detected will typically comprisenano-particles or micro-particles that have some property (e.g. opticaldensity, magnetic susceptibility, electrical charge, fluorescence,radioactivity, etc.) which can be detected. The carrier will preferablybe made from a transparent material, for example glass or polystyrene,to allow the propagation of light of a given (particularly visible, UV,and/or IR) spectrum. The carrier may be a part of the sensor device oran independent component separate from the sensor device, for examplerealized by a disposable cartridge. The sensor device comprises thefollowing components:

a) An optical system with an image sensor onto which particles (ifpresent at the binding surface) are imaged. As the image of particles onthe image sensor will typically be magnified, the optical system withthe image sensor will in the following—without loss of generality—bebriefly called “microscope”. Preferably, the microscope will image thebinding surface through the (transparent) carrier.

b) A “displacement unit” for controllably displacing the image sensor ofthe microscope relative to the carrier. This relative displacementpreferably takes place in such a way that there is (only) a lateralshift of the image of a particle on the image sensor. Moreover, saidshift is preferably less then one pixel on the image sensor.

c) An evaluation unit for evaluating images that were generated atdifferent relative displacements of the carrier and the image sensor.The evaluation unit may be realized by dedicated electronic hardware,digital data processing hardware with associated software, or a mixturethereof.

According to a second aspect, the invention relates to a method fordetecting with a sensor device particles at the binding surface of acarrier, particularly particles that are bound to said binding surface,said method comprising the following steps:

a) Imaging particles onto an image sensor of a microscope.

b) Displacing with a displacement unit the image sensor relative to thecarrier.

c) Evaluating with an evaluation unit images that were generated atdifferent relative displacements of carrier and image sensor.

The method may preferably be executed with a sensor device according tothe first aspect of the invention. Both the method and the sensor devicehave as a common feature that they evaluate images of (e.g. bound)particles which were generated at different relative positions ofcarrier and image sensor. Hence it is possible to increase the spatialresolution that can be achieved with the image sensor becauseinformation from at least two images taken from different viewing anglescan be combined. This in turn allows a more accurate determination ofthe kind of particle and/or of the type of its binding, which helps toincrease the quantitative accuracy of the sensor device and thedetection method.

In the following, preferred embodiments of the invention will bedescribed that relate to both the sensor device and the method describedabove.

According to a first preferred embodiment, the image sensor of themicroscope is pixelated, i.e. it comprises a plurality of single sensorelements (“pixels”) that can individually be read out. Such a pixelatedimage sensor may for example be realized by a CCD or a CMOS image sensoras it is known from digital cameras. In a pixelated image sensor, thespatial resolution is quantized (and limited) by the pixel size. Therelative displacement between carrier and image sensor brings about thatdifferent pixels of the image sensor will receive images of a particle,which allows to increase the spatial resolution by overcoming the limitsimposed by the pixel size.

In the aforementioned embodiment, the dimensions of the pixels arepreferably such that (with respect to particles of a given size and agiven magnification of the microscope) the image of a particle at thebinding surface covers between one and about 20, preferably betweenabout three and about 9 pixels on the image sensor. In this case thespatial resolution with which the position of bound particles can bedetermined is severely limited by the pixilation of the image sensor,and the displacement approach of the invention can hence provide asignificant improvement.

It should be noted that the displacement between the carrier and theimage sensor is assumed to be relative. With respect to a stationaryenvironment of the sensor device (e.g. the laboratory), such a relativedisplacement can be achieved by (i) moving the carrier while the imagesensor remains stationary, (ii) moving the image sensor while thecarrier remains stationary, or (iii) moving both the carrier and theimage sensor with different displacements relative to the stationaryenvironment. Accordingly, there are several possibilities how thedisplacement unit can exert its effect. In preferred embodiments, thedisplacement unit is designed such that it displaces either only thecarrier, or only the microscope (with the image sensor), or only theimage sensor (without the rest of the microscope) with respect to theresidual components of the sensor device. If the carrier or the completemicroscope are displaced, this displacement shall preferably be at leastas large as one pixel if the image sensor is pixelated; if the imagesensor is displaced, a displacement of less than one pixel suffices.

According to a further development of the invention, the sensor devicecomprises an actuator unit for exerting forces on particles at thebinding surface in a direction that is parallel to the binding surface.The reaction of a particle to such forces, i.e. the extent of itslateral displacement, provides valuable information about the existenceand type of a binding to the binding surface, which may for example beused to distinguish specific bindings (which are desired according tothe purpose of an assay) from nonspecific bindings (which relate tobackground noise).

The aforementioned actuator unit may for example comprise a magnet forexerting magnetic forces on (magnetic) particles, an electrical fieldgenerator for generating electrical forces (on charged or polarizableparticles), or an ultrasound probe for mechanically displacingparticles. With the mentioned devices, well controllable forces can beexerted on particles.

The actuator unit is preferably further adapted to generate forces onparticles in opposite directions. Hence the direction of exerted forcescan be changed, which helps to neutralize possible hysteresis or biasingeffects.

According to another preferred embodiment, the actuator unit and thedisplacement unit are synchronized. This means that there is a givenfunctional relation between the timing of relative displacements betweencarrier and image sensor on the one side and the exertion of forces onparticles on the other side. Preferably, the synchronization is suchthat at least two images with different relative displacements betweencarrier and image sensor are generated for the same force generated bythe actuator unit (hence imaging a bound particle with the same lateraldisplacement). Moreover, another pair of images taken at differentdisplacements between carrier and image sensor should be generated foranother value of the force exerted by the actuator unit on the (bound)particle. Hence the reaction of a (bound) particle to lateral forces canbe determined with high spatial resolution.

The evaluation unit is preferably adapted to determine a parameter thatis related to the distance between a particle and the binding surface,to the lateral displacement of a particle relative to a referenceposition on the binding surface, and/or to the residence time of a boundparticle at the binding surface (i.e. the lifetime of a binding). Thementioned values comprise valuable information about the existence andtype of a binding between a particle and the binding surface. Inparticular, the determined parameter can be used to discriminate betweenspecific bindings one is interested in and nonspecific bindings.

According to another embodiment, the evaluation unit is adapted toselect an isolated (e.g. bound) particle for evaluation. Isolation of aparticle means that neighboring particles are at least a given minimaldistance away (e.g. at least one or a few particle diameters). Thisrequirement ensures that the considered particle is not affected byinteractions with other particles.

In general, the sensor device and the method may be applied with manydifferent types of particles and bindings of such particles to thebinding surface. In a preferred application, the considered particle isa label particle, i.e. a particle which is used to label a targetparticle of another type one is actually interested in. Moreover,binding between said label particle and the binding surface shall takeplace specifically via a smaller target particle. The target particlemay for example be a (small) molecule like a protein or nucleic acid,and the label particle may be a magnetic bead. In a typical example ofsuch a system, the size of the target particle is in the order of 5 nm,while the label particle (magnetic bead) has a diameter of about 500 nm.Hence the geometrical difference between nonspecific direct binding of alabel particle to the binding surface and a specific binding via a(small) target particle is quite small, but it can nevertheless bedetected with the approach of the present invention.

The sensor device may optionally comprise a light source, for example alaser or an LED, for illuminating the binding surface with an evanescentwave. Such an evanescent wave may particularly be generated with aninput light beam that is totally internally reflected at the bindingsurface. Illumination with an evanescent wave has the advantage thatonly a limited small volume immediately adjacent to the binding surfaceis affected while background noise from the bulk medium further awayfrom the binding surface is suppressed.

According to another embodiment, the sensor device comprises a lightsource and a light detector for detecting particles at the bindingsurface with the help of a totally internally reflected light beam. Inthis setup of a frustrated total internal reflection, the amount oflight that is missing in an output light beam due to scattering ofevanescent waves during total internal reflection is used as anindication of the amount of particles at the reflection surface.

The invention further relates to the use of the microelectronic devicedescribed above for molecular diagnostics, biological sample analysis,chemical sample analysis, food analysis, and/or forensic analysis.Molecular diagnostics may for example be accomplished with the help ofmagnetic beads or fluorescent particles that are directly or indirectlyattached to target molecules.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from andelucidated with reference to the embodiment(s) described hereinafter.These embodiments will be described by way of example with the help ofthe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 schematically shows a sensor device according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 illustrates the difference between specific and nonspecificbindings in a direction perpendicular to the binding surface;

FIG. 3 illustrates the difference between specific and nonspecificbindings in a direction parallel to the binding surface.

Like reference numbers in the Figures refer to identical or similarcomponents.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Though the present invention will in the following be described withrespect to a particular setup (using magnetic particles and frustratedtotal internal reflection as measurement principle), it is not limitedto such an approach and can favorably be used in many differentapplications and setups.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary setup (not to scale) with a sensor device 100according to the present invention. One component of this setup is acarrier 11 that may for example be made from glass or transparentplastic like polystyrene. The carrier 11 is located next to a samplechamber 1 in which a sample fluid with target components to be detected(e.g. drugs, antibodies, DNA, etc.) can be provided. The sample furthercomprises magnetic particles, for example superparamagnetic beads,wherein these particles are usually bound (via e.g. a coating withantibodies) as labels to the aforementioned target components. Themagnetic particles may bind in various ways to the sensor surface, forexample “specifically” via a target particle and an antibody on thesurface, or directly (“non-specifically”), e.g. with more than one bondwhich reduces the lateral movement. In the Figures, magnetic particlesthat are specifically bound via a target particle will have thereference sign MP, while magnetic particles non-specifically bondwithout a target particle will be denoted with MP′. It should be notedthat instead of magnetic particles other label particles, for exampleelectrically charged or fluorescent particles, could be used as well.

The interface between the carrier 11 and the sample chamber 1 is formedby a surface called “binding surface” 12. This binding surface 12 iscoated with capture elements, e.g. antibodies Ab (cf. FIGS. 2, 3), whichcan specifically bind to target particles.

The sensor device 100 comprises a magnetic field generator 41, forexample an electromagnet with a coil and a core, for controllablygenerating a magnetic field at the binding surface 12 and in theadjacent space of the sample chamber 1. With the help of this magneticfield, the magnetic particles MP, MP′ can be manipulated, i.e. bemagnetized and particularly be moved (if magnetic fields with gradientsare used). Thus it is for example possible to attract magnetic particlesMP, MP′ to the binding surface 12 in order to accelerate their bindingto said surface, or to wash unbound magnetic particles away from thebinding surface before a measurement.

The sensor device 100 further comprises a light source 21 that generatesan input light beam L1 which is transmitted into the carrier 11 throughan “entrance window” (not shown). As light source 21, e.g. a commercialCD (λ=780 nm), DVD (π=658 nm), or BD (λ=405 nm) laser-diode as well ahigh power (λ=650 nm) LED can be used. A collimator lens may be used tomake the input light beam L1 parallel, and a pinhole may be used toreduce the beam diameter. The input light beam L1 arrives at the bindingsurface 12 at an angle larger than the critical angle of total internalreflection (TIR) and is therefore totally internally reflected in an“output light beam” L2. The output light beam L2 leaves the carrier 11through another surface (“exit window”, not shown) and is detected by alight detector 31. The light detector 31 determines the amount of lightof the output light beam L2 (e.g. expressed by the light intensity ofthis light beam in the whole spectrum or a certain part of thespectrum). The measured sensor signals S are evaluated and optionallymonitored over an observation period by an evaluation and control module32 that is coupled to the detector 31.

It is possible to use the detector 31 also for the sampling offluorescence light emitted by fluorescent particles which werestimulated by the input light beam L1, wherein this fluorescence may forexample spectrally be discriminated from reflected light L2. Though thefollowing description concentrates on the measurement of reflectedlight, the principles discussed here can mutatis mutandis be applied tothe detection of fluorescence, too.

The described microelectronic sensor device applies optical means forthe detection of magnetic particles MP, MP′. For eliminating or at leastminimizing the influence of background (e.g. of the sample fluid, suchas saliva, blood, etc.), the detection technique should besurface-specific. As indicated above, this is achieved by using theprinciple of frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR). This principleis based on the fact that an evanescent wave penetrates (exponentiallydropping in intensity) into the sample chamber 1 when the incident lightbeam L1 is totally internally reflected. If this evanescent wave theninteracts with another medium like the bound magnetic particles MP, MP′,part of the input light will be coupled into the sample fluid (this iscalled “frustrated total internal reflection”), and the reflectedintensity will be reduced (while the reflected intensity will be 100%for a clean interface and no interaction). Depending on the amount ofdisturbance, i.e. the amount of magnetic particles on or very near(within about 200 nm) to the TIR surface (not in the rest of the samplechamber 1), the reflected intensity will drop accordingly. Thisintensity drop is a direct measure for the amount of bound magneticparticles MP, MP′, and therefore for the concentration of magneticparticles in the sample. The described procedure is independent ofapplied magnetic fields. This allows real-time optical monitoring ofpreparation, measurement and washing steps. The monitored signals canalso be used to control the measurement or the individual process steps.

More details about the FTIR measurement principle may for example befound in the WO 2008/155716, WO 2009/001276 A1, and WO 2008/142492 A1.

The described sensor device 100 or similar biosensors can for example beapplied for the detection of DNA (molecular diagnostics) and proteins(immuno-assays), both important markers for all kind of diseases in thehuman body. As described above, the immuno-assay techniques may use thespecific coupling of small (super)paramagnetic particles or beads to abinding surface for the final optical detection (FTIR) of the biologicalmarkers. Based on this platform detection instruments are beingdeveloped for decentralized measurements such as the roadside testing ofDrugs-Of-Abuse in saliva or the Point-Of-Care testing of cardiac markersin human blood at the physicians place. The concentrations of biologicalmarkers in Drugs-Of-Abuse testing are relatively large (nano-molarregion) while the concentrations required for cardiac marker testing arealready much lower (pico-molar region). For future applications evenlower concentrations (femto-molar region) have to be detected, wideningthe range of diseases which can be detected. More sensitive detectiontechniques also allow quicker measurement times for the higherconcentration regions.

The measurement of the mentioned low concentrations is currently onlypossible in centralized labs where extensive systems are used and themeasurement times are long. It would therefore be desirable to have asystem which can be operated in a decentralized setting while stillhaving a centralized lab performance. The main challenges in such asystem are a) how to increase the sensitivity of the system and b) howto discriminate between the signal of the specific biological marker tobe tested and the inevitable background signal caused by non-specificbinding.

The magnetic sensor device 100 described above typically uses magneticbeads with sizes between 200 nm and 1000 nm as labels. Since smallmagnetic beads cannot be attracted to the surface fast enough due totheir limited magnetic content and large magnetic beads exhibit slowerbinding kinetics, most of the assay development is carried out with 500nm beads. This size is hence used as an example in the remainder of thisdisclosure.

In general, specific bonds of magnetic particles MP deviate fromnon-specific bonds of magnetic particles MP′ in a number of ways, whichare illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3:

a) In a specific bond the target molecule is always involved. This isillustrated in FIG. 2 (not to scale), where a magnetic particle MP isshown on the left that is specifically bound via an intermediate targetparticle (molecule) TP which binds to antibodies Ab on the magneticparticle's surface and on the binding surface 12 of the carrier 11,respectively. On the right side of FIG. 2, a non-specifically boundmagnetic particle MP′ is shown for which the antibodies Ab are directlycoupled. Because of the finite size of the target particle TP, whichmight be several nanometers large (e.g. 5 nm), the distance between thebead and the surface 12 is an amount ΔH larger for the specific bondthan for the non-specific bond.

b) At low target concentrations there is only one target particle TP perbead on beads which are able to capture a target. Most of the beads donot capture a target particle. The beads containing a target particlehave more chance to make a single, specific bond to the binding surfacedue to the higher association constant of a specific binding compared toa non-specific binding. Non-specific bonds have a much larger chance tomake multiple bonds. The difference between a single bond and a multiplebond is visible in the lateral displacement, either caused by thethermal or Brownian motion or by lateral force. This is illustrated inFIG. 3 (which is drawn to scale). A bead MP of diameter D=500 nm with anantibody layer Ab with a thickness of 15 nm is attached to a bindingsurface 12, also comprising an antibody layer Ab with a thickness of 15nm, by means of a 5 nm target particle TP. When the bead MP is displacedby means of a lateral force (in x, y-direction), it may be brought intodirect contact with the binding surface 12, corresponding to thesituation of the shown non-specifically bound bead MP′. Thecorresponding change in vertical position is ΔH=5 nm while the change inlateral direction (within the mean extension of an evanescent wave Le)is about 50 nm, i.e. ten times larger. Characteristic displacementswhich have to be measured are therefore in this range. By moving thebead MP from the maximum left position to the maximum right position thetotal displacement is twice as large.

c) Due to an exact fit of the geometrical shape of the target moleculeTP and the capturing molecule (e.g. antibody Ab), a specific bond ofteninvolves more atomic interactions than a non-specific bond. A singlespecific bond is therefore often stronger than a single non-specificbond. This is reflected in a larger average residence time of the beadMP on the binding surface (i.e. a lower dissociation constant k_(off)).

In view of the above facts, it would be desirable to look in detail toeach bond in terms of bond length (z), freedom of movement ordisplacement in lateral direction (x,y), and residence time on thesurface (bond strength). This leads to the idea of adding an extraimaging system to the FTIR read-out by putting an objective lens closeto the binding surface and projecting the image on a camera.

FIG. 1 illustrates this for the FTIR sensor device 100, which isadditionally equipped with a microscope 50 comprising an objective lens51, further lenses 52, and a camera or image sensor 53 (e.g. a CCD orCMOS chip).

In existing sensor devices, the above approach faces however the problemthat the objective lens has to fit between the pole tips of a“horse-shoe” electromagnet. Since the distance between these pole tipsis restricted to 1.5 mm due to performance requirements of theelectromagnet, the available room for the light cone of the objectivelens is strongly limited. Due to the limited room for the light cone ofthe objective lens, the spatial precision or resolution of such animaging system would be inadequate to observe characteristicdisplacements of single 500 nm beads. This is caused by the fact thatthere is only room for a NA=0.4 objective lens, which limits the RMS(FWHM-spot) optical resolution to 1.3 μm at 20-fold magnification. As aresult bead sizes on the camera sensor are enlarged to 1.3 μm×20=26 μm,which compares to 6×6 pixels on a 4.4×4.4 μm pixels of a high-end CMOScamera.

As mentioned above, specific and non-specific bonds can be discriminatedon the basis of their bond length. Because the magnetic beads areilluminated by an exponential decaying evanescent field Le, theiroptical image is the convolution of the beads and the spatial opticaltransfer function, so that dispersion in the binding-height (z) and thebead diameter (D) will both change the observed light intensity I(z,D).That is why (x,y,z) bead-displacement is needed for unambiguousdetermination of said parameters.

When assuming a length of 5 nm of the typical target particles TP and abead diameter of D=500 nm, the bead-displacements are typically 50 nm,which compares to a quarter of a pixel at 20 times magnification. Evenwhen using a 6-pixel curve-fitting step to reconstruct the centre ofmass, this is far too inaccurate for the intended application.

It is therefore proposed here to (1) vary the position of the imagingsystem with respect to the cartridge surface, (2) take a camera pictureof at least two positions, and (3) combine said pictures to retrievemore spatial resolution.

Returning to FIG. 1, the aforementioned general principle is illustratedwith respect to a specific embodiment. As already mentioned, the sensordevice 100 features an additional microscope 50 for imaging magneticparticles MP, MP′, which are (specifically or non-specifically) bound tothe binding surface 12 of the carrier 11, onto the plane of the imagesensor 53. In order to realize a relative displacement between thecarrier 11 and the image sensor 53, a displacement unit can be insertedat different positions. In FIG. 1, three possibilities are shown inparallel for purposes of illustration (a real sensor device would ofcourse usually realize only one of them):

The first type of displacement unit 60 is coupled to the carrier 11 inorder to controllably move this in x- or y-direction while the rest ofthe setup remains stationary.

A second type of displacement unit 70 is coupled to the whole microscope50 for controllably displacing this in x- or y-direction with respect tothe stationary environment.

Finally, a third type of displacement unit 80 is integrated into themicroscope 50. It can controllably displace only the image sensor 53relative to the stationary environment and relative to the rest of themicroscope 50.

The displacement units 60, 70, 80 are preferably connected to theevaluation and control unit 32 which controls their operation. They mayin practice be realized in different ways, for example with piezoelements, a motor driven sledge or the like.

With the described microscope 50 and the displacement units 60 or 70,bindings can be observed from different viewing-positions (position,angle) by using mechanical actuation of the binding surface 12 or thetotal imaging system 50. By combining camera-frames, it is possible toimprove the optical resolution of the total optical system and limit thequantization effects of the limited pixel size. Preferably thedisplacement of the bead image on the image sensor 53 comprises in thesesetups less than one camera pixel.

A (lateral) displacement of the beads MP MP′ relative to the bindingsurface 12 can be introduced by a rather constant or varying magnetic,electrical or mechanical (e.g. ultra sound) force applied to said beads.Magnetic forces could for example be exerted with the magnet 41 or afurther magnet (not shown). Camera frames can then be taken preferablysynchronous to said force/displacement, wherein synchronization may beguaranteed by the evaluation and control unit 32. Displacementhysteresis effects can be suppressed by displacing the beads in oppositedirections (both positive and negative).

In a variation on this theme, displacement of the carrier 11 by thedisplacement unit 60 may introduce both bead movement (driven byinertial forces) as well as displacement of viewing position.

As bead-bead interactions largely affect the resulting magnetic force,the signal processing algorithm preferably comprises the step ofselecting isolated beads.

When only the relative position of the image sensor is displaced withthe displacement unit 80, virtually more camera pixels are generated atthe cost of lower effective frame-rate. Preferably the displacementcomprises less than one camera pixel in this case. The requireddisplacement of the image sensor is typically larger than about 25 nmand can be provided by commercially available piezo actuators.

The described approaches enable the combination of magnetic actuation,FTIR and microscopy by using a smaller sized objective lens. Hence thedetection of 10-ths of nanometer bead movements becomes possible.

While the invention was described above with reference to particularembodiments, various modifications and extensions are possible, forexample:

The sensor device can comprise any suitable sensor to detect thepresence of particles on or near to a sensor surface, based on anyproperty of the particles, e.g. it can detect via magnetic methods,optical methods (e.g. imaging, fluorescence, chemiluminescence,absorption, scattering, evanescent field techniques, surface plasmonresonance, Raman, etc.), sonic detection (e.g. surface acoustic wave,bulk acoustic wave, cantilever, quartz crystal etc), electricaldetection (e.g. conduction, impedance, amperometric, redox cycling),combinations thereof, etc. A magnetic sensor can particularly comprise acoil, magneto-resistive sensor, magneto-restrictive sensor, Hall sensor,planar Hall sensor, flux gate sensor, SQUID, magnetic resonance sensor,etc.

In addition to molecular assays, also larger moieties can be detectedwith sensor devices according to the invention, e.g. cells, viruses, orfractions of cells or viruses, tissue extract, etc.

The detection can occur with or without scanning of the sensor devicewith respect to the sensor surface.

Measurement data can be derived as an end-point measurement, as well asby recording signals kinetically or intermittently.

The particles serving as labels can be detected directly by the sensingmethod. As well, the particles can be further processed prior todetection. An example of further processing is that materials are addedor that the (bio)chemical or physical properties of the label aremodified to facilitate detection.

The device and method can be used with several biochemical assay types,e.g. binding/unbinding assay, sandwich assay, competition assay,displacement assay, enzymatic assay, etc.

The device and method are suited for sensor multiplexing (i.e. theparallel use of different sensors and sensor surfaces), labelmultiplexing (i.e. the parallel use of different types of labels) andchamber multiplexing (i.e. the parallel use of different reactionchambers).

The device and method can be used as rapid, robust, and easy to usepoint-of-care biosensors for small sample volumes. The reaction chambercan be a disposable item to be used with a compact reader, containingthe one or more field generating means and one or more detection means.Also, the device, methods and systems of the present invention can beused in automated high-throughput testing. In this case, the reactionchamber is e.g. a well-plate or cuvette, fitting into an automatedinstrument.

With nano-particles are meant particles having at least one dimensionranging between 3 nm and 5000 nm, preferably between 10 nm and 3000 nm,more preferred between 50 nm and 1000 nm.

Finally it is pointed out that in the present application the term“comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, that “a” or “an”does not exclude a plurality, and that a single processor or other unitmay fulfill the functions of several means. The invention resides ineach and every novel characteristic feature and each and everycombination of characteristic features. Moreover, reference signs in theclaims shall not be construed as limiting their scope.

1. A sensor device (100) for detecting particles (MP, MP′) at thebinding surface (12) of a carrier (11), comprising: a) a microscope (50)with an image sensor (53) onto which particles (MP, MP′) are imaged; b)a displacement unit (60, 70, 80) for controllably displacing the imagesensor (53) relative to the carrier (11) c) an evaluation unit (32) forevaluating images that were generated at different relativedisplacements of the carrier (11) and the image sensor (53).
 2. A methodfor detecting with a sensor device (100) particles (MP, MP′) at thebinding surface (12) of a carrier (11), comprising: a) imaging particles(MP, MV) onto an image sensor (53) of a microscope (50); b) displacingwith a displacement unit (60, 70, 80) the image sensor (53) relative tothe carrier (11); c) evaluating with an evaluation unit (32) images thatwere generated at different relative displacements of the carrier (11)and the image sensor (53).
 3. The sensor device (100) according to claim1, characterized in that the image sensor (53) is pixelated.
 4. Thesensor device (100) or the method according to claim 3, characterized inthat the image of a particle (MP, MP′) covers between one and about 20,preferably between about 3 and about 9 pixels on the image sensor (53).5. The sensor device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe displacement unit (60, 70, 80) displaces either the carrier (11), orthe microscope (50), or the image sensor (53) with respect to theresidual components of the sensor device.
 6. The sensor device (100)according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor device (100)comprises an actuator unit (41) for exerting forces on particles (MP) ina direction parallel to the binding surface (12).
 7. The sensor device(100) or the method according to claim 6, characterized in that actuatorunit comprises a magnet (41), an electrical field generator, or anultrasound probe.
 8. The sensor device (100) or the method according toclaim 6, characterized in that the actuator unit (41) is adapted togenerate forces in opposite directions.
 9. The sensor device (100) orthe method according to claim 6, characterized in that the actuator unit(41) and the displacement unit (60, 70, 80) are synchronized.
 10. Thesensor device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that theevaluation unit (32) is adapted to determine a parameter that is relatedto the distance (z, ΔH) of particles (MP, MP′), the lateral displacement(Δx) of particles (MP, MP′), and/or the residence time of boundparticles (MP) with respect to the binding surface.
 11. The sensordevice (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the evaluationunit (32) is adapted to select an isolated particle (MP, MP′) forevaluation.
 12. The sensor device (100) according to claim 1,characterized in that the particle is a label particle, particularly amagnetic bead (MP), which binds via a smaller target particle (TP) tothe binding surface (12).
 13. The sensor device (100) according to claim1, characterized in that the sensor device (100) comprises a lightsource (21) for illuminating the binding surface (12) with an evanescentwave.
 14. The sensor device (100) according to claim 1, characterized inthat the sensor device (100) comprises a light source (21) and a lightdetector (31) for detecting particles (MP, MP′) with a totallyinternally reflected light beam (L1, L2).
 15. Use of the sensor device(100) according to claim 1 for molecular diagnostics, biological sampleanalysis, chemical sample analysis, food analysis, and/or forensicanalysis.